Tag: Baffleberry

Siluria was another Earth-like and habitable Planet discovered around the end of the 21st Century. Silurians were the dominant species on the planet and were basically bi-pedal, reptile-like beings with huge eyes and even huger teeth. They were, however (despite the teeth) an extraordinarily friendly and placid civilisation. They are one of only 2 extra-terrestrial groups that have made proactive contact with Earth with a view to meeting and sharing knowledge and expertise. And they did, of course, give us Baffleberry juice!!

The Silurian way of living was quite a basic one. They did have rudimentary technologies for communication (so they could phone home when they needed to) but they didn’t really have the lifestyle ‘tools’ that Earth had. So they didn’t need vehicles to move around on their planet and they only ate vegetables and fruit. They also didn’t wear clothes as they had no obvious dangly or otherwise private bits to hide. Procreation apparently only really involved their tongue. They had quite tough and wrinkly skins that varied from pale brown to almost black. So, all in all, they led a very simple life on a daily basis and enjoyed a very temperate climate that hardly varied as they went through their equivalent of a year.

Trade was limited with Siluria primarily because they had few needs and limited items to export. The exceptions were, of course, Baffleberries and also Silurian silk rugs, unique because living Silurian silkworms were incorporated in every rug. These were very popular on Earth as you could buy a small one and then if you ever moved to a larger place you could trigger the growth cycle of the worms and watch the rug grow to fit the space. Downsizing was a bit of an issue as there were no equivalent means of shrinking a Silurian rug. In addition, Silurian silkworms have quite strong legs which meant that on occasion a rug could go walkabout unexpectedly!!

Like this:

Baffleberries were first discovered on Siluria, a small planet in the XXi Regus 7 star system. They were quickly determined by the early explorers to be essentially delicious and then by the inevitable scientists, to yield a juice with remarkable antioxidant properties. The juice, not surprisingly, rapidly became popular on Earth as a natural way to address the aging process and have a yummy drink for breakfast.

Baffleberries got their name (and the derived juice) for a number of reasons. First, it was never easy to work out when the bright green triangular shaped berries were ripe, so farming them effectively became something of an art. Not only that but from the consumer side, their flavour could vary enormously from sweet raspberry, banana-like, to something like raw onion. Consumers never really knew whether the Baffleberry juice they bought at the cloud market was going to bring a smile or a grimace to their face. However, committed Baffleberriers (members of the very popular Baffleberry club which made someone very rich) didn’t care – wrinkles were kept at bay and that was the most important thing. Silurians, in contrast, didn’t really care because they were wrinkly by nature, so Baffleberry juice was exported to Earth quite cheaply.

And finally, as if that were not enough to baffle, the juice, when refrigerated for longer than an hour, became totally invisible. This meant that you never quite knew how much you had left or worse, if you were in a rush in the morning, how much you had actually poured out into your glass!!